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NCC
communion leaders remind Obama
of his promise to cut poverty in half
Urge a reprise of 2008 speeches in State of the Union Message
Washington, January 18, 2011 -- Heads of National Council of Churches member
communions and NCC staff leaders used the Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday
weekend to urge President Obama to use his January 25 State of the Union
message to reassert his dramatic campaign pledge to "cut poverty in half" in
the next ten years.
 In
an open letter to Mr. Obama, the NCC staff and communion leaders said,
"There is no greater concern among the churches of Christ than for those in
this nation who live in poverty. This could hardly be otherwise because
Jesus himself lived among the poor: loving them, eating and drinking with
them, healing them, and speaking words of justice and assurance that God's
own love for the poor is unsurpassed."
The Rev. Michael Livingston, who directs the NCC's poverty program, said it
was appropriate to send the message to the President as the nation observed
Dr. King's 82nd birthday.
"Martin Luther King, Jr. was the prophet who inspired all of us to work for
justice and to end poverty," Livingston said. "We know the President shares
our views, and we want him to know we are behind him as he takes up this
challenge."
Despite hopeful signs that the recession is abating, the letter told the
President, "there are millions in our nation who live in the profoundest
poverty -- persons unable to find work to sustain themselves or their
families, children and elderly who go to bed hungry each night, persons who
have lost homes and the comfort of safe places to lay their heads -- persons
who for the most part have been hidden from the national view," the letter
said.
These persons "have neither a political power block nor an influential
constituency that makes it worthwhile for politicians to notice them. The
only real political advocate they have, as Harry Truman said, is the
President of the United States."
During the 2008 campaign, then Senator Obama said on more than one occasion
that he would commit his presidency to the goal of cutting poverty in half
in the next decade. "I absolutely will make that commitment," Mr. Obama said
in a forum in Grantham, Pa., in April 2008.
"Understand that when I make that commitment, I do so with great humility
because it is a very ambitious goal. And we're going to have to mobilize our
society not just to cut poverty, but to prevent more people from slipping
into poverty."
The ecumenical leaders said in their letter to the President: "We who lead
the member communions of the National Council of Churches believe it is time
for you to renew the pledge you made in the campaign to cut poverty in half
in the next decade ... Mr. President, we urge you to renew this pledge like
a clarion call in the 2011 State of the Union Message."
As the President takes this step, the letter said, "be assured that we stand
with you and that you have the support and prayers of all 37 member
communions of the National Council of Churches.
The full text of the letter follows:
January 17, 2011
The President
The White House
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. President
"I absolutely will make that commitment
(to cut poverty in half in ten years) ...Understand that when I make
that commitment, I do so with great humility because it is a very
ambitious goal. And we're going to have to mobilize our society not
just to cut poverty, but to prevent more people from slipping into
poverty ..." (Barack Obama, Democratic Candidates Compassion Forum,
Grantham, Pa., April 13, 2008).
(Cutting poverty in half) "is a goal that I will set as
president of the United States of America." (Barack Obama, speech,
Grand Rapids, Mich., May 14, 2008).
All of us -- the heads of member communions of the National Council
of Churches -- listened to your historic words with hope.
There is no greater concern among the churches of Christ than for
those in this nation who live in poverty. This could hardly be
otherwise because Jesus himself lived among the poor: loving them,
eating and drinking with them, healing them, and speaking words of
justice and assurance that God's own love for the poor is
unsurpassed.
Mr. President, the recession that reached its nadir in 2008
continues to have a profound effect on all of us. There are millions
in our nation who live in the profoundest poverty -- persons unable
to find work to sustain themselves or their families, children and
elderly who go to bed hungry each night, persons who have lost homes
and the comfort of safe places to lay their heads -- who have for
the most part been hidden from national view. They have neither a
political power block nor an influential constituency that makes it
worthwhile for politicians to notice them. The only real political
advocate they have, as Harry Truman said, is the President of the
United States.
As we see hopeful signs that the recession may be abating, we know
that millions in our nation will continue to live in poverty and
hopelessness unless immediate and decisive action is taken to help
them.
We who lead the member communions of the National Council of
Churches believe it is time for you to renew the pledge you made
during the campaign to cut poverty in half in the next decade. We
ask that you use the influence of your office to assure those living
in poverty that this nation has not forgotten
them.
Mr. President, we urge you to renew this pledge like a clarion call
in the 2011 State of the Union Message.
As you have noted, this is a very ambitious goal and there are far
too many politicians in this nation who might not take the risk or
pursuing it without the strong advocacy of the President. But as you
renew this commitment, be assured that we stand with you and that
you have the support and prayers of all 37 member communions of the
National Council of Churches.
Grace to you, and peace,
Bishop John F. White, Ecumenical Officer, African Methodist
Episcopal Church
The Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist
Churches USA
Bishop Charles Leigh, Apostolic Catholic Church
H.G. Bishop Serapion, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles,
Southern California and Hawaii
The Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President,
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. Dr. Carmichael L. Crutchfield, General Secretary, Christian
Methodist Episcopal Church
Mr. Stanley Noffsinger, General Secretary, Church of the Brethren
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop, the
Episcopal Church
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America
The Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller, President, Moravian Church (Northern
Province)
The Rev. Canon Peg Chemberlin, President, National Council of
Churches
The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary, National Council
of Churches
The Rev. Michael Livingston, Director, Poverty Initiative, National
Council of Churches
The Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (USA)
Rev. Walter L. Parrish III, General Secretary, Progressive National
Baptist Convention, Inc.
The Rev. Dr. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed
Church in America
The Rev. Ken Turley, President, General Convention of the New
Jerusalem (Swedenborgian)
H.E. Metropolitan Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, Syriac Orthodox Church of
Antioch, Archdiocese of the Eastern U.S.
The Rev. Geoffrey A, Black, General Minister and President, United
Church of Christ
Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, President, Council of Bishops, United
Methodist Church
Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader, Ecumenical Officer for the Council of
Bishops, United Methodist Church |
Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of
the Churches of Christ in the USA has been the leading force for
shared ecumenical witness among Christians in the United States. The NCC's
37 member communions -- from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican,
Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace
churches -- include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local
congregations in communities across the nation.
NCC News contact:
Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212 (cell),
pjenks@ncccusa.org
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